It’s been around 2 1/2 years since I was diagnosed with CML.  Most of the time I feel like I’m an old hand at it.  I know what to expect.  I know how things work.  Well, it turns out I’m not as experienced as I think.  It’s only sunk in over the last couple of days that while I don’t get sick very often, it now takes me a lot longer to get over whatever lurgy it is that has beset me.

I’ve been putting off going to the doctor because each day I’ve been feeling a “little” better, and besides they can’t do much for a virus anyway.  Yesterday after yet another flare up I succumbed and was started on a course of antibiotics.  And what a difference it has made.  I honestly didn’t know how crappy I was feeling until I started feeling better.

The only down side is I’m also beginning to see all the things that need catching up on around the place.  I haven’t had much energy for mucking around with the kids, housework (blegh), projects…  So my afternoon job is to sit down and get a bit of a to do list happening.

The morale of the story: Remember to look after yourself properly, particularly if you are suffering from a chronic illness.  Although you (I) mightn’t like to admit you’re (I’m) not as resilient as days gone by, and early intervention will save a lot of time and effort in the long run.

I’m very new to the world of IM, but from what I’ve seen so far it doesn’t seem to be a whole lot different to other male dominated industries. I know about male dominated industries because I spent most of my working life in them. I was even the recipient of a scholarship to encourage women into a male dominated field (affirmative action, you know). The fact is, I get a little bit annoyed when I hear women going on about how they are overlooked for opportunities in favour of men.

Perhaps it’s because (or despite) I’ve spent so long in male dominated (I hate that term - is there another one I can use?) industries but I have honestly never experienced discrimination based on my gender. Or perhaps because I just don’t get office politics it floats over my head without me noticing.

My general observations of IM in respect to gender are:

• There are more men doing it so there are going to be more guys popping up on the radar than women.
• The men seem to be more aggressive in their marketing tactics than women which again leads to greater visibility.
• The majority of promotional alliances, joint ventures and what have you are between men. The guys are actively forming very visible networks (see point above).

IMHO there is no great conspiracy here to exclude women, any more than there is in any other industry. It’s a matter of numbers, and the fact that guys tend to do business differently to women. They network differently, they make friends differently. That’s not to say we can’t join together, it just means we each need to take those differences into account - accept and get over them or find a way around them - and get on with it.

My experiences in other industries have been:

• If I show that I am capable, I will be given the job
• Guys will accept and welcome women without a blink (well, perhaps a chauvinist joke or two just for good measure), provided the women do not have a chip on their shoulder. Chips can cause reactions from even more poor taste jokes to wariness to exclusion.
• As a woman, some people will be surprised to learn what you do simply because there aren’t that many women doing it (as was Lynn’s case). It’s not that they don’t think you can do it, they just haven’t come across many women in that particular industry.
• If you let it, gender discrimination will become an issue. I have seen on occasion that it can become a self fulfilling prophecy. (That is not to lessen the seriousness of legitimate gender discrimination.)

Of course there are still some boys’ clubs and old school guys around, but I believe they are becoming fewer and fewer. Much discrimination is based on generational beliefs that aren’t going to change in a hurry. And of course there was this in The Age today!

On the whole though, my experiences have led me to the belief that women who do the job as well as men, market themselves as well as men and take opportunities as well as men (and vice versa) will get a similar outcome. The paths may not be the same but there will be equal rewards there for both. I have no reason to believe that IM would be any different.

Agree? Disagree? What are your thoughts?

We had a wonderful time on our two week caravanning trip. In all we travelled almost 2,000km. On the whole, the kids travelled very well considering the amount of time we spent in the car. I tried to have plenty of distractions prepared for them when they were getting a bit antsy. The times I wasn’t prepared we paid the price!

Our trip took us north initially into south west New South Wales. It’s an area we’ve only ever driven through on the way to somewhere else, so being able to stop and take it all in was a nice change. The first destination was Griffith which is the regional centre of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. Past the dry grazing and cropping land south of the river, irrigation made a world of difference to the landscape. Vineyards and orchards stretched on forever each outlined by irrigation channels. Rice growing is another very large industry in the area, however we were visiting at the wrong time of the year to see that happening.

The most interesting thing to me about Griffith though was the multiculturalism. Walking down Bana Ave (the main street) you could just as easily be in Melbourne judging by the people walking past. The area is of course very rich in Italian heritage, but there were many other nationalities too. The surprising thing is this is a town of 15,000 people a long way from anywhere.

Of course, irrigation rights are becoming more controversial by the minute in Australia with prolonged droughts. Towns, households and the environment right along our rivers are feeling the pinch of greatly reduced flows. But that’s a post for another day. However, we did see first hand, a major side effect of the drought.

The day after we arrived in Griffith there was a huge dust storm. Not something that lasts for a few minutes and then disappears. This was gale force winds and sun blocking dust for a few hours - apparently the worst they have had in over 40 years. It must have been devastating for farmers to watch their paddocks being blown to Canberra and the Australian Alps. This picture was taken about 1:30 in the afternoon of what had previously been a perfectly clear day.

A local told us a few days later the dust likely came from central Australia, as it was quite red not the colour of local soils.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for us) the duststorm was followed by very good rains. I think it may be a case of too little too late for a lot of farmers though.

Despite the kids that day declaring it the “worst holiday ever”, things began looking up the following day. The rain cleared, the skies stayed blue and we were able to find plenty to keep us occupied. Griffith is surrounded by a number of wineries for those so inclined to visit. The lady at the tourist information centre took one look at our tribe put the winery brochures back on the shelf.

We did pay a visit to the local Pioneer Museum which The Engineer thoroughly enjoyed. He particularly loves old machinery, and being an agricultural area there was plenty to see. The museum is set on 11 hectares and includes many buildings dating back to the settlement of the area.

Lake Wyangan

We also made the trip out to Lake Wyangan, a large man-made lake (from a reclaimed quarry and swampland). It is popular for water sports, although it too was looking like it was suffering from the drought.

To tell the truth, I was surprised that we were able to fill in our time as much as we were. Although I was keen to see something different to our usual trips around the coast, we were a little unsure about our decision to try Griffith. I guess it pays to divert from the usual route sometimes. You never know what you might find.

Limit time in the car
One of the things I can remember about my childhood caravan holidays is traveling all day, with just a stop for lunch. Mum and Dad must have seriously been going nuts traveling those distances with four kids. We try to limit our journeys to around 400-500km per day. That gives us plenty of time for toilet breaks and a bit of a run around to get rid of some energy along the way. It also means we’re all not so cranky when we finally get to our destination and still need to set up camp.

Travel games
We have a few games that are favourites with the kids. Some of them even get trotted out on shorter trips to the shopping centre.

• I spy - a perennial favourite. As our two younger children don’t know their letters at this stage, we alternate between the traditional game and spying colours (I spy something that is blue…)
• Places - this is another game with a couple of variations. Our usual version goes like this: The first person names a place in Australia (can be a town, river, mountain, desert, etc). The next person names a place that begins with the last letter of the first place. Places aren’t allowed to be repeated throughout the game.
• Paddocks - draw a grid of dots. Each play can join turn adjacent dots horizontally or vertically. The person that draws a line to complete a square takes possession of that square. The player with the most squares when all the dots are joined is the winner.
• Treasure Hunt - come up with a list of things to spot. Make sure some of them are easy to keep up interest, but throw a few challenges in there too. The number of items will dictate the length of the game. Alternatively you could set a time limit and the player with the most items at the end of the game wins.

Moms Minivan has an amazing number of car games for kids of all ages. Some you need equipment for, but many of them need nothing more than some imagination and a fun spirit.

Goodie bag
Sometimes our goodie bag has lollies and treats in it, sometimes it has little toys from the $2 shop. Great value for money can be had from cheap magna doodle type boards. Also fun are the mazes that you have to guide little balls through. I’m thinking about trying a Rubik’s Cube for The Engineer this time round. The items in the goodie bag are rationed throughout the trip usually when all else fails.

iPods
My iPod has my music (of course) as well as the kids’ music loaded onto it. I set it to shuffle and we generally get a good mix of music that keeps everyone happy. We’ve had many a sing-a-long together to the most unlikely songs - Christmas songs in the middle of the year, “You made me love you” with Shirley Bassey is a favourite at the moment!

When they’re ready for some quiet time, the kids all have a Shuffle each that I load up with their favourite music. I also include some audio books for them to listen too.

Maps and Drawing Paper
Each of the kids has their own clipboard where I put a map of our journey with some major milestones highlighted. I started doing this just for The Engineer as the girls are too little to read maps yet. But they wanted their own as well, so now everyone gets a map. I used to include some drawing paper as well, but found this made a huge mess in the back of the car. Now I get them a cheap exercise book each and a couple of pencils, which keeps them all happy for a while.

I’ve found the key to keeping the kids (and parents) happy when traveling long distances in the car is to listen to the cues. When things start getting a little antsy, don’t try to push for a bit further. Things will quickly escalate and the price will be paid. Mix up the activities with some quiet time and don’t expect miracles and your trip should be a happy one.

What’s your favourite tip for traveling with kids?

Technorati Tags: family, family activities, holidays, car games

Image by The Journeyer via Flickr

Today’s post is the second of three in a series on how we plan our caravan holidays (here’s Part 1). We try to get away whenever we can, whether it be a long weekend or a bigger trip over the school holidays. Here I cover how I organise what to pack, other important things to arrange before we leave and how we decide what we’ll do at our destination.

What to pack

Having a caravan gives the advantage of not having to pack everything each time we head off. We leave crockery, cutlery, bedding, towels, games, first aid and nonperishable food in the caravan which means we really only have to pack clothes, toiletries, medication and perishable foods.

I have prepared a spreadsheet that I use each time we go away, because sure as eggs I would forget something vital if I relied on my memory. It also means that The Engineer, who can read, can pack his own clothes. I only need to do a quick check to make sure it’s all there.

I have also included items like my camera and spare batteries, iPods, books, phones and all their respective chargers (!). Really what to take here comes down to personal preference.

Click here for a copy of my packing spreadsheet. (Hmm, Wordpress is not playing nicely and won’t let me upload my spreadsheet. Apologies. I’ll have another try later on.)

What else to arrange

• Arrange care for pets not lucky enough to be traveling with you.
• Stop mail and newspaper delivery
• Arrange someone to check on your house
• Consider automatic light timers
• Give the van a once over
  • Fill the water tank
  • Check you have all the accessories you need, eg jockey wheel, jack, annexe and poles
  • Check tyres and wheel nuts
  • Turn on the fridge so it’s cold when you arrive
• Ensure the car is healthy
  • Does it need a service?
  • Check the oil and water
  • Check tyres and wheel nuts
• Arrange entertainment for the kids in the car (more on this in Part 3).
• Book accommodation if you’re traveling to popular places in peak periods.

What do we do when we get there

Sometimes our holidays are about lazing around and not doing much at all. That’s the idea anyway. As any of you with kids will know, it’s not such a simple thing to do nothing when they’re concerned. We always take some sports equipment with us like a football or cricket bat and ball, and we have a kite and fishing gear packed away in the van. We don’t have a TV in the van, but do have a couple of DVD’s to watch on my laptop if we get desperate when the weather is bad, but we honestly never miss television.

Before we leave I do a scour of the net for interesting things to do in the area we’ll be visiting. Every state in Australia has its own comprehensive tourism site and often councils will have a tourism section on their websites. Again it comes down to our interests and trying out something new when we can. We really like to get a feel for the area we’re staying in, so we’ll generally do quite a bit of walking. Of course, many larger towns have tourist information centres that are a wealth of information. The kids love visiting them and we always leave with brochures for more things that we could possibly do in the time we have.

We try to get a happy medium - maybe one day sightseeing followed by a day not doing much, or sightseeing mornings and relaxing afternoons. One of the great things about caravan holidays is there is no strict schedule, so we can decide as we go.

Next, Part 3 - How to entertain kids on long car trips

Image courtesty of Jayco Australia

Going caravanning is one of our favourite things to do. The kids have been counting sleeps for about a month now. They know which towns we’ll be going to and some of the things we’ll see when we get there. Thankfully, they forget about all the driving we’ll need to do. We deal with that set of problems when they happen.

For some people (I think) going camping is just a matter of tossing a few essentials into the car and heading off to who knows where for a few days roughing it. We like things to be a little more organised. I generally put quite a bit of thought and preparation into where we go, what we take and what we do when we get there.

Where to go

We generally have at least one beach holiday a year. The beach is great even if it’s not swimming weather. There are walks, treasure hunting, building sandcastles, fishing, kite flying, and the list goes on. Having said that we usually go during the summer and perhaps again during the spring. The kids seem not to feel the cold water as much as me and The Thinker, so they usually get at least one swim in.

However, we also like to try different types of holidays as well. That’s the great thing about a caravan. Just about anywhere you would like to go, you can usually set up camp. So when choosing where to go we look at a couple of things.

• Weather - even though I said above that there is plenty to do at the beach outside of the usual summer period we try to steer clear of the coast in the winter. The cold winds and rain tend to make camping somewhat unenjoyable. Once we have a few general ideas about what we want to do, I check the average weather details just to make sure we’re not going to be soaked or frozen when we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves. By the same token, we don’t want to be sweltering either.
• How long do we have - there’s no point planning on traveling 2,000 kilometres if you only have a week off. While it might not be a problem for some people, for us traveling with three young kids means that about 400 kilometres a day is generally the maximum we can do. We pay the price if we decide to do more. Limiting the distances we go means we have plenty of time for pit stops and importantly we’re not all cranky come set up time when we arrive at our destination. As a general rule of thumb we do long weekends within a 3 hour drive of home. An advantage of this is we have seen a lot of places closer to home that we might not have otherwise visited. Even going 70km away is enough to recharge our batteries and do something different. We save the longer trips for our two weeks school holidays travels.
• What do we like to do - most times we try to find somewhere that has a few interesting activities or places to visit nearby. For example, The Engineer is into science and space at the moment, so we will be going to visit the Parkes Observatory. The Thinker likes history, so we sometimes visit places of historical significance. By trying to find things that match the kids’ interests I find it tends to make the holiday more enjoyable for them and who know, The Thinker and I might learn something too.
• What haven’t we done before - it is easy to find a great holiday spot and want to go back there every chance. We do that ourselves with our annual beach holiday. Other times during the year though, we like to try new places. That’s why we’ve chosen south west New South Wales this time. It’s different to most of our other holidays and a definite change of pace from the beach.

Image of Parkes Observatory courtesy of Wikipedia

Where will we stay

Once we’ve decided on the general area that we want to visit, I research the various places to stay. At this stage we only stay in caravan parks, although it would be fun to try bush camping at some stage.

• Facilities - the caravan park that we stay in MUST have a playground (unless it’s for a very short overnight stop - and only then if we’re desperate). It’s one thing the kids always ask for and it makes life so much easier for us. Setting up and packing up is so much easier when they have something to do (if we can’t convince them to help us, that is). It’s also something for them to do if The Thinker and I just want to kick back for a little while. The kids also love a swimming pool, although that’s not a deal breaker for me. I generally stick to at least 3 1/2 star, as I find the amenities at this rating are OK. Things like recreation rooms and camp kitchens are also nice to have’s.
• Reviews - I always check Badger’s Australian Caravan Park Reports. Travellers submit their reviews to Badger who owns and very kindly maintains the site for all to use. While these reports aren’t definitive - what your experience is depends on your requirements and perspective - I find them useful. I also belong to a great family camping forum whose members are quite helpful in suggesting great places to stay.
• Location - if we have a choice, we stay away from major roads, railway lines and the like. Who wants to stay in a lovely caravan park only to be woken at 3am each morning by a freight train rumbling past?

In Part 2 tomorrow, I’ll look at what we pack, what other things we need to arrange before we leave and what we do when we’ve reached our destination. Part 3 will look at how we keep the kids amused (and ourselves sane) in the car, without a DVD player.

As I was eating breakfast this morning I was thinking about what I could write for a Smiley Saturday post. Then I read this from an entrant in Lightening’s traveling t-shirt’s series. I had tears rolling down my cheeks, especially from the new mother story. My husband didn’t believe anyone would do that, but those of us who have been paranoid, sleep deprived, frantic new mums know different.

Fortunately, about the worst thing I ever did was locking us out of the house and having to scale the fence to break in through a window.

I’m smiling for a lot of similar reasons to Lightening this week. Although we don’t have a new caravan arriving (I wish) this weekend we are starting to get ready for our two week trip. We all love to get away in the caravan and the kids are even excited to be putting it up this weekend to check everything out. I finally got some things sorted this week that might have stopped us going away, so that definitely put a smile on my face.

We’re trying something different to our usual beach holidays and are heading to south western NSW this time. If anyone has some must see’s or do’s I’d love to hear them.

Enjoy your weekends everyone

There are even more laughs over at Lightening Online this morning.

Last night Cinderella (5) was getting a bit concerned about the birth process. I thought that one was a bit curly, but handled it in my vague/detailed way to her satisfaction. But that got Little Mermaid (3) thinking. Dangerous.

Little Mermaid: I know I grew in your tummy and then I got born.

Me: Yes, that’s right.

Little Mermaid: But how did I get in your tummy?

Me: You grew there.

Little Mermaid: Yes, but how did I get in your tummy?

At this stage my husband is just about wetting himself and being of no help whatsoever. The Engineer and Cinderella are listening intently.

Me (getting the giggles now): You started off sooo tiny that we couldn’t even see you and then you grew in my tummy.

Little Mermaid: But how did I get in your tummy?

Me: You grew from a tiny little egg.

She let it go then. But I know she wasn’t satisfied. It’s only a matter of time before she asks again, and I’d better have a good response ready. This one doesn’t give up easily.

How would you explain where babies come from to a three year old?

Blogging

• Write two posts to schedule if I am away. I have the topics ready to go. I’ve been doing a bit of reading about producing articles/posts in a reasonable amount of time (instead of my usual mulling over them forever). I plan to implement what I have learnt to get a good head start on writing posts.
• Continue to grow the Journeyer’s Chronicles community. What a failure that was last month. It was more like a case study in how not to grow a blog community. Two or three posts for the whole month - not good.
• Complete the 30 Day Challenge. I’m quite proud of myself for this one. I stuck it out, did what I was supposed to do (rather than going off on my own course) and finished the training. I even made a little bit of money - very, very, very little bit. But you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

September goals

• Blog three times a week here.
• Continue writing scheduled posts.
• Continue working on niche websites.

Family

• Do something fun with the kids during the week. Now that the weather’s been improving we’ve been taking advantage of the parkland near our home a lot more. The kids love going for a walk to try and see the baby Cape Barren Geese or down to the swings. We’ve also been spending more time in the backyard.
• Establish teamwork in regard to household tasks - keep upstairs tidy. Upstairs has been tidy, but I don’t know that it’s due to teamwork. Cinderella tends to be doing the cleaning up after the other two kids. And The Engineer’s bedroom - let’s just say there’s plenty of room for improvement…

September goals

• Plan our caravan trip for the school holidays.
• Continue to establish teamwork for household tasks.

Finances

• Monitor our budget. We’ve been doing pretty well sticking to our budget. It’s sometimes hard not to buy impulsively, and in fact The Thinker and I had a “discussion” about it just yesterday. I think I need to remember that we deserve a reward for our good work to take some of the sting out of saying no all the time.

September goals

• Make sure we reward ourselves for a job well done
• Stick to our spending budget.

Health

• Use the exercise bike twice each week. I haven’t been on the bike twice a week, but I have been on it. A bit more focus is required. I may just aim for once a week, as the weather is on the improve and we have been walking much more.
• Set aside some me time each day. Again, the frequency has been difficult for me. I have started talking “mummy walks”, much to the kids’ horror.
• Write regularly in My Happy Pages. Another big fat 0. As is my habit, I’ve been making this job bigger than it was intended to be and so I have been putting it off. When I started, it was supposed to be a couple of lines each day or so. I need to go back to basics.

September goals

• Use exercise bike once a week
• Walk three times a week (includes me time)
• Regularly write in My Happy Pages
• Investigate the best way to improve the health of my back

Productivity

• Organise a housework schedule. I’m probably about half way there. It all seems like such a big job and again I need to break it down. During the month SimpleMom released her first ebook, called “Spring Cleaning for Normal People”. The way she suggests working seems quite doable and a spring clean will get everything in order for me to maintain, so I’m going to give it a go. I’ll also do a post about the ebook in the near future (after I’ve tried it out).
• Listen to/read two books. I’ve tried hard to do this one. Really I have. I’m opting to listen to books as I can do it while I do other household tasks and don’t nod off after a few pages that way. I’m being thwarted in my efforts though. The kids keep playing games on my iPod and every time I go to use it the battery is flat. Note to self: Hide iPod from kids.
• Continue trialling Todoodlist. This is such a simple system and works quite well for me (Click here to view more details). Another review is in the wings for this one.

September goals

• Spring clean
• Listen to two books

Simple Living

• Keep the vegie garden coming along. I planted carrot and lettuce seeds during August. We have a row of tiny lettuces poking up, but the carrots seem to be a bit slow. All in all, the vegie garden has been very successful.
• Make some yoghurt and bread. Well, I’ve decided that making bread is going to be a novelty for me. For the amount of bread we go through and the price I can get it for at Aldi makes it a bit senseless to try and bake our own. One day perhaps. As for the yoghurt, I’m still keen to give it another try. It just needs to make it to the front of my attention

September goals

• Work out how on earth we are going to use the rabini/broccoletti from our vegie garden.
• Start a craft project and work on it regularly

How was your month goal wise? Oh, and if you know what to use rabini for please let me know!

Photos: Carrots .Carota - Wortels - Geze - 胡萝卜, Zen Water, Playmobil Pocketmod - Miniture GTD (9/365)

I’m planning to cut my posting frequency on Journeyer’s Chronicles down to three times a week to give me more time for some other things I’m working on. The 30 Day Challenge has finished now and I’m going to be spending a lot of time practicing what I learnt there.

I came across this post How to Write an Article in 20 Minutes | Copyblogger today. It has some great advice for writing a post in a short amount to time. OK, now sometimes I do get it right and can write something in no time at all. Most often though, I get struck down with perfectionism and spend much, much longer. I’m counting on being able to implement some of these techniques to reduce the time I spend creating posts.

So the upshot is I’ll be back here starting tomorrow with my August goals review. See you then

Photo: aaaaand the cable has been cut on Flickr - Photo Sharing!